(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Friday night’s Jag-Hawk showdown was one that entered into the record books, and it was a game that the Ankeny Centennial football team is hoping to leave in the rear view mirror.
Some early momentum swingers quickly snowballed into a tough 59-0 shutout loss against crosstown rival Ankeny (4-0).
Two of Centennial’s biggest problems against the Hawks were getting its defense off the field and keeping its offense on the field.
The Jaguars had a chance to make an early defensive stop when Ankeny considered punting while facing fourth-and-3 from midfield on the game’s opening possession.
The Hawks ultimately opted to go for it out of a timeout, and it led to Ankeny quarterback Mason Machan finding former Centennial running back Devan Goode for 5-yard completion that moved the chains.
Still, Centennial was able to limit the damage, holding Ankeny to just three points on a 36-yard field goal from Canden Ganahl.
The chance to respond on the Jaguars’ first drive on offense took an initial nosedive on a first-play sack that was followed by a run for no gain on second down.
Centennial junior quarterback Brekken Miller found plenty of open space on a third-and-long scramble and would have had a first down for the Jaguars in Ankeny territory, but Miller lost the ball and the Hawks were able to recover on their own 46-yard line.
Things started to snowball against Centennial from there on out.
Ankeny followed up its field goal with four consecutive scoring drives with a punt return for another touchdown sandwiched between to take a 38-0 lead at halftime.
The Hawks tacked on three more touchdown drives in the second half while Centennial struggled to move the ball across midfield.
The loss was a big step back for a Centennial squad that had built up some good momentum going into the game.
The Jaguars (2-2) opened up the year going toe-to-toe with Southeast Polk before the Rams pulled away in the second half for a 56-25 win.
Centennial immediately bounced back by picking up a 23-20 road win over Linn-Mar, which saw the Jaguars drive 90 yards in the span of 4 minutes to kick a walk-off field goal by senior placekicker Noah Manning.
The Jaguars followed it up with a 45-7 blowout win over Des Moines Lincoln behind three total touchdowns from Miller and two rushing touchdowns from sophomore James Naert.
Centennial wasn’t able to get any of its momentum to follow it into a matchup with a strong Ankeny defense that has only gotten better each week.
“We just watched a lot of film,” said Ankeny linebacker Rowan Doak, who also ran for a score in the second half. “Our scout team did a great job.”
The Hawks allowed 20 points in a season-opening win at Waukee Northwest and proceeded to only give up 10 in a victory over Waukee and seven in a blowout over Des Moines Roosevelt.
The Jaguars still have a chance at making the postseason, but they’ll need to regroup before hosting Urbandale in their Homecoming game on Friday. The J-Hawks are also 2-2 after rolling to a 49-7 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
